The Second Adventure
by squirrel2
Summary: A sequel to Tradeoff.  There was no signal, of course. Expressing her disappointment, Kayla sighed, looking at her iPhone.  There were some disadvantages to travelling to the past.
1. Chapter 1

The Second Adventure

**This story is a sequel to my story, Tradeoff, so you may want to read that if you haven't already.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own JatD. Kayla is my own character, though.**

(Medieval Times)

A lot had happened since Kayla's mind had left Jane's time. One, Jester had finally admitted to Jane that he "loved her" but was now avoiding her. He was constantly embarrassed around her and seemed to be drifting away from her. Smithy seemed to be more of his "best friend" now as he spent much more time laughing and joking around with Smithy than he did with Jane. In fact, he hardly joked around with her anymore. Even though Jane liked him, she had started to wish he had never told her he loved her. It was now the thing that was ruining their relationship.

Jester had also revealed his name to be Virtus, after the Roman god of courage. Jane tried again and again to get him to use his name but Jester refused. He said he was too used to being called Jester and did not even like his name. But Jane felt that he was just too insecure about his name and needed to get over it. Despite her attempts, Jester had still sworn her to secrecy about his name.

She was very curious about Kayla. Jane had not gotten to know her, as they had reversed times and had never met each other. Her mind was awhirl from what she had learned about the future. There were "elevators", "cars", and strange devices. And their clothing was so strange. Jane wished she could tell her friends about what she had experienced but could not, for they would never believe her. They would either think her a liar or insane. _If only there was a way_, she thought.

If only there was a way.

(Present Times)

Kayla's new iPhone had arrived. Her old one had been destroyed by "Jane", according to Dr. Allen. She had been frightened of the device.

She recalled the events that had happened only a little while ago as if it had all happened yesterday. Kayla had been a knight. But now she was in the present, wishing she could go back and meet Jane. _If only there was a way_, Kayla thought.

Dr. Allen, the scientist who had transported Kayla to the past and had switched her mind with Jane's had decided not to reveal his new technology. He feared even though he would be thought of as a hero and would most likely win the Nobel Prize, his technology would be abused. People would be switching eachother's minds and it would create chaos. But even so, he was working on a way to send someone to the past without switching their mind with anyone else's in the past.

Kayla was his guinea pig. She was just waiting for that phone call.

And eventually it came. A year later. Kayla gathered her things that she would be bringing to the past and walked to Dr. Allen's office.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The fifteen year old girl made her way to Dr. Allen's office, an interesting place located in a four story high building near the center of the city. She had only walked a few blocks before she arrived, carrying a bag filled with gadgets and whatnot. The weather was dreadfully hot, as it often was in the D.C. area in June. She was welcomed by the cold air of first floor of the building, where the air conditioners were blasting quite loudly. Kayla went over to a chair, ignoring the looks she attracted from the security guard at the front desk. He was probably wondering why she was there, but as she posed no threat, he left her alone. Meanwhile, Kayla was going through her bag, making sure she had brought everything she wanted. The contents of her bag were: her iPhone, which she took with her everywhere, a flashlight and batteries, food such as chocolate, a sandwich, some chips, a bottle of water, and a bottle of coke, a notepad and pen, and a few other things.

Once she was done organizing her bag, Kayla got up and headed over to the elevator and pressed the up arrow. She saw from the lights that the elevator was coming down. 4, 3, 2, and at one the door opened, revealing distressed woman who quickly hurried out of the elevator. Kayla got in, joined by another person who looked at her and said, "Hit 3. Thanks." She did so and hit 4 for herself. The door opened at three and she got off at four. She rushed down the hall and eagerly knocked on the door. Dr. Ronald Allen opened it and let the girl in.

"So I get to go back in time!" Kayla blurted out.

Dr. Allen smiled, gesturing for her to sit down. "Maybe." he said.

She sat and asked, "Maybe? I thought you said-"

He cut her off and said, "It's complicated, but it should work. Now let me explain my experiment to you." She nodded. "In the past year I have invented something that I think might be capable of transporting a person to another time. I'm not sure that it will work, and the problem with time travel experiments is you never _really_ know if they worked."

Kayla, confused at what he was saying, asked, "But you know the mind-switching experiment worked."

"No I don't. There is no ultimate proof. I believe that it worked because you claim that it did. And if I were to send something back in time, now in the present, it would be buried in history so I would never know for sure."

"What if history was changed because of going back in the past?"

"That's where paradoxes come in. As I said, it is all very complicated. I think this new technology will work. You should be able to go to that girl Jane's time and meet her."

Kayla was very excited about all this, yet naturally, she was fearful as well. She had no idea if it would work or not and if she would be lost in time. It was all very scary, but she wanted so badly to go back in time and meet Jane. Now she had a chance, and she was not giving it up. "What's your invention?"

Dr. Allen showed her something that looked like a big watch. "This is a time travelling device. All you have to do is enter the date that you want to go to and you will go there." He handed the device to Kayla and let her study it. It was simple looking yet it was not simple at all. Kayla's mind was awhirl with thoughts. It was all so confusing and there were so many paradoxes that made it seem like it would not work. She didn't like paradoxes. They were too confusing. The fact that she could go back in time and keep something from happening that would change the present made her stomach hurt.

"So all I have to do is enter June 1, 815 and I will go to Jane's time?"

"Yes. You need to enter the location too."

Kayla realized something. She didn't know where Jane lived. It was somewhere in England but she didn't know where. "I don't know where she lives."

Dr. Allen remembered that when he had met Jane when her mind had come to the future, she had told him she was a knight of King Caradoc's guard. He quickly went up to his computer and googled "King Caradoc." He found a page on King Caradoc Cedric Bartok Kippernook, king of Kippernium. With a few more minutes of quick research he found the name of the castle, Kippernia Castle. "Did Jane live at a castle?"

"Yes."

"Then I found out where she lived."

"Really?"

"Yes. Enter 'Kippernia Castle, Kippernium' for the location."

After she entered it, Kayla stared at the watch. All she had to do was press the button and she would be sent to the Middle Ages. Dr. Allen noticed her expression of worry and asked, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Kayla nodded her head as a response. Then she asked, "How long will I stay there?"

"You control when you want to come back. I suggest soon though. Maybe in a week or two?"

"Three weeks."

"Fine. Go whenever you're ready."

Kayla just stared at the watch. She laid her on top of the button, ready to push it, and grabbed her bag of things.

Meanwhile, in 815, Jane was battling against the practice dummy.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Gunther Breech was standing guard by the gates. He hated sentry duty. It was so _boring_. He sighed, as he wished something interesting would happen. Gunther began whistling a tune that came to him and watched Jane practice against the dummy, as he had a good view of her from his position. He had a small crush on her; not anything compared to how Jester followed her around all of the time trying to amuse her. Lately Gunther hadn't seen Jester talk to Jane, and he shrugged, for he had no clue why this may be. He continued whistling. Then, a girl appeared out of nowhere. She was about Gunther's age, and with long blonde hair. He was astounded by her beauty. She was wearing strange clothes- blue pants that seemed very tight, and a loose white shirt. She was coming towards him.

"Hi, is this Kippernia Castle?"

She had an accent Gunther had never heard before. "Yes." Gunther tightened his grip on his sword. No matter how innocent and beautiful she looked, he figured she might still be trouble.

"What year is it?"

Gunther looked at her quizzically. Who was this girl? "815. Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"My name is Kayla. I'm…" Kayla had to think of some reason she was there. She doubted he would believe that she had come from the future to see Jane. "I'm here to get a job as a singer." Singing was something Kayla was good at, so if she had to persuade the King of her reasons for being there, at least she could probably convince him she's a singer.

Gunther looked at her bag. She might be hiding a weapon in there. "Can I see what's in your bag?"

"Er, yes…" Kayla didn't want him to see her iPhone, flashlight, or any of her things that he might find too strange. If he saw her strange devices he might not let her in. She looked into her bag and quickly adjusted her things so that the food was covering up her electronics. Kayla handed her bag to Gunther, who looked inside it and then, apparently fine with it, handed it back and let her through the gates.

Jane heard the gates open and then close. Was Gunther coming back from sentry duty already? She turned around, panting from exhaustion, and then gasped when she saw the girl who was with him. She was dressed just like those people from the future and she looked familiar somehow. _She can't be from the future. She must be from some other kingdom_, Jane thought. "Who's this?"

Kayla spoke before Gunther could and said, "I'm here to get a job." Kayla knew it was Jane. Gunther then escorted her to the gardens and took her inside.

Jane recognized her voice.

* * *

><p>"So you're here to get a job?" the King asked.<p>

"Yes, Your Majesty." In books and movies people always addressed kings and queens as "Your Majesty" so she did, hoping she was correct. "I want to be a singer for your court."

"We already have a singer."

Kayla's stomach turned to a knot. "Who?"

"The court jester." Kayla remembered the weird boy she had met when she was in Jane's mind. He had been dressed in a ridiculous outfit, and had told Kayla, or Jane, that he "loved her."

"Well, if you had a female singer I could sing different music and I could do duets with the court jester. Plus, where I'm from, our music is _much _different than anything you've ever heard." Kayla knew medieval music was very different than the pop music that Kayla sang.

"Where are you from?"

"The kingdom of Northern Virginia."

The King had never heard of this kingdom before. "Well, let's here you sing your 'different' music."

Kayla, in a beautiful powerful voice, started singing:

_Baby, you're a firework_

_Come on show 'em what you're worth_

_Make 'em go oh, oh, oh_

_As you shoot across the sky-y-y_

_Baby, you're a firework_

_Come on let your colors burst_

_Make 'em go oh, oh, oh_

_You're gonna leave 'em falling down-own-own_

The King applauded. The music _was_ different. And Kayla was such a confident singer. She even danced around when she sang. "Your voice is wonderful! Yes, I would like you to sing here. You can team up with Jester or sing by yourself. Sir Theodore, would you show her to one of the spare rooms?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Kayla was practically jumping up and down with excitement as she followed the old knight through a few hallways and to a room. She put her bag on a table and sat down on the bed. It was hard as she had remembered when she had been Jane. Sir Theodore then led her outside where she was to meet everyone. Where she was to meet Jane.

Note: The lyrics are from the song Firework by Katy Perry.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The King had called a meeting in the Throne Room, and Sir Theodore was now leading Kayla to the big room where the entire castle staff was gathered. As she entered the room, Kayla suddenly became quite nervous, a rare feeling for her, and averted her eyes and shielded her face as well as she could without appearing too suspicious. The room was full of strangely dressed people, with a few adults and quite a few people who appeared her own age: a boy with curly blonde hair who was dressed as a blacksmith, a tall boy with brown hair, a girl with long brownish- black hair wearing a white-grey dress, the handsome boy who had been guarding the castle gates, Jane wearing a confused look on her face, and the eccentric court jester, who was looking at Kayla in a way that made her feel uneasy. The King and Queen were sitting on their thrones, the King looking quite pleased- maybe he was happy that he was getting another person in his service, as his staff was quite small. Sir Theodore stopped a few feet away from where the floor elevated like a stage, and he bowed, so Kayla did the same.

"My good subjects," the King began. "I bring you here today to share some exciting news. Today I am adding a new person to my staff." Kayla felt every eye in the room land on her, and she could hear muffled whispering. She knew her eye make-up, skinny jeans, and t-shirt must have made her seem especially strange and suspicious. "She has come from another kingdom," the King continued. "To work here as a singer alongside Jester." Jester bowed, having been acknowledged. "Any questions?"

No one spoke. _They must have millions of questions_, thought Kayla. If they did so, no one spoke their mind, and moments later the King dismissed them. Kayla saw Jane start to walk up to her but then stopped as Jester was already coming up to Kayla much faster.

Jester scanned her up and down. "You're the new singer?"

_Obviously_, Kayla thought. She nodded. She didn't get a good impression from him, and at the moment was not looking forward to having to work with him.

"Well, I have a few ballads I could probably turn into a duet. Do you play any instruments?"

Kayla had seen Jane leave the room through a side door. She literally couldn't wait to see her so she quickly told Jester, "Look, I have some things I need to do to get settled so I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Uh, okay…" Jester seemed hurt.

Kayla then ran from the room, exiting in the same place Jane had, and found her in the gardens. "Jane!" she called. Jane whirled around, quite surprised, and asked, "How do you know my name?"

Catching her breath, Kayla said, "I'm Kayla- the person from the future whose mind was switched with yours. Remember that dude Dr. Allen?"

Jane had figured it was Kayla, but had dismissed that thought, for it had seemed impossible. Now the mysterious girl she had wanted to meet for a year was cheerfully talking to her, and had just marched in and gotten a job at the castle. Overwhelmed, she asked, "What's a 'dude'?"

"Never mind," Kayla replied. "Anyway, he invented a way to travel in time so here I am!"

Jane didn't say anything. She tried to, but nothing came out. She was very happy, happy in a way that she couldn't express it.

"I see you're quite speechless," Kayla laughed. "Well, I thought we could just get to know each other and all that."

"That would be great." Though this was the first time Jane had ever met Kayla face-to-face before, she felt like Kayla had been her friend for ages. "I can show you around if you like."

"Okay!" Kayla almost jumped up like a puppy.

"Well, this is the Royal Gardens." Jane waved her arms about, gesturing to the hedges and topiaries. "Rake takes care of the gardens."

"Rake? That's his name?"

"Yes. Do you want to meet him?"

"Sure." Kayla blinked her eyes and shook her head to herself. She couldn't believe the poor boy's parents had named him after a garden tool. Kayla shuddered at the thought of her own name being something along the lines of Shovel or Pickaxe. At least Rake wasn't _that_ bad of a name.

It turned out Rake was the tall boy with brown hair. He was very nice but they did not talk long, as he was busy planting some type of bush, so Jane and Kayla headed towards the kitchen, where Pepper was boiling water and preparing vegetables for a soup. Kayla knew the kitchen would be nothing like hers at home, but still it was interesting to see the different type of kitchen. A pot was full of boiling water over a fire, and there were all sorts of foods on the counter. Pepper turned around as Jane and Kayla entered the kitchen.

"Oh, hello!" Pepper said to them. "Welcome to the kitchen. I'm Pepper."

_What is with these people's names?_ Kayla thought. "My cat's name is Pepper."

"Oh," Pepper wasn't sure if Kayla' comment was a compliment or an insult. "Well, my parents named me Verbena but I go by Pepper. I'm making potato soup for dinner."

Something about that wasn't right. How did 9th century England have potatoes? "_Potato_ soup?"

"Yes, they're a food Dragon got from a faraway place," Pepper explained. "Have you met Dragon?"

_Dragon? That talking monster I met when I was Jane?_ Kayla thought as her stomach did a flip. Jane, seeing Kayla's horrified expression, said, "Don't worry, he's really nice. In fact, he's my best friend. But he's probably napping in his cave at this time of day. Let's go meet the others."

_Her best friend is a mythological creature from English and Chinese legend that isn't supposed to exist? This place is bizarre_, Kayla thought. As they left the kitchen, Kayla whispered to Jane, "That faraway place Pepper was saying the potatoes come from is where I live. In my time it's called the United States of America." She followed Jane out of the kitchen, past the tables, through the garden, and to the practice yard where Kayla saw two people: the blacksmith and the squire who had been on sentry duty. The blacksmith was hitting a piece of metal with a hammer and the squire was practicing archery. Kayla became suddenly afraid, for the dragon was sleeping on the wall. She almost screamed out but covered her mouth with her hand, fearing she would wake the creature.

"I thought he was in his cave…" Jane muttered, almost to herself. Gunther turned around and smiled. The beast was still asleep, and the blacksmith had only glanced up to see Kayla, Jane, and Gunther, and returned to his work. Gunther, seeing Kayla's distressed expression, comforted her, speaking in a fond, nice voice, "No need to be afraid, the castle is well guarded by knights like me."

Kayla smiled, but Jane angrily spat, "Not from Dragon, you beef-brain. Dragon wouldn't hurt anyone." To Kayla, she whispered, "He's a real pest."

Gunther bowed slightly to Kayla and said in that same voice, "I'm Gunther. Pleased to meet you again." He shot a look at Jane, who glared. She hated how deceivingly smitten he was with Kayla. Meanwhile, Kayla was still keeping her eye on the slumbering dragon, but her attention was mostly on Gunther. She could tell he liked her and had to admit, she returned the crush.

"Let's go meet Smithy," said Jane tightly. Was she jealous? Kayla smiled at Gunther and headed over to the forge. In a voice low enough that only she and Gunther could hear it, she whispered harshly to Gunther, "You don't fool anyone, you pathetic maggot."

"I'm not so sure about that," Gunther replied in a sing-song voice. He then returned to his archery practice. Jane ran over and joined Kayla by the forge. She and Smithy were already talking.

"…So my name is Jethro but my nickname is Smithy. I used to live on a farm a few miles away from here. I was taken into the King's service a few years ago. I brought Pig with me." He gestured towards Pig, who was eagerly spinning in the wheel like a hamster would. Kayla was nodding as he spoke and Jane almost gaped at how quickly and easily Kayla had gotten Smithy to open up about his past. He rarely even did so with his friends.

Just then, Dragon woke up. No one noticed until Dragon, yawning, asked Jane, "Who's that you've got with you?"

Kayla screamed, causing Smithy to drop his hammer and Gunther to miss his shot. "It's alright, Kayla!" Jane yelled.

Kayla was very embarrassed, so she did her best to calm down. "Sorry," she said.

"This is Kayla. She just got a job here today."

"Oh. Kayla, do you like jokes? I know some good ones about cows."

Kayla, still nervous, replied, "I think I'll pass." She couldn't believe she was actually talking to a dragon. "How did you learn to talk?"

"Over the past three hundred years I've learned quite a few things. I've learned to imitate the way shortlives talk."

"Like a parrot?"

Dragon looked offended. Kayla decided to change the subject. "What's a shortlife?"

"That's Dragon's term for people," Jane said. Kayla heard bells from behind her.

"Oh no," she muttered. Turning to Jane she said, "I guess I have to talk to him now."

"Hello, Kayla. I was thinking we should come up with a song to sing for the King and-" Jester began.

"Yeah, yeah I know," Kayla interrupted. Jane and Dragon flew off on patrol and Kayla was left to have to talk with Jester. They headed off to the gardens, where Jester got his lute. "I know a song that would be fun to sing together," she told him. "It's called Mean."

Note: So what do you think? The song Mean is referring to Mean by Taylor Swift.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Mean?"

She sighed. "Yes, that's the name of the song." She found Jester so annoying. Maybe because she knew he liked her. Plus he was just strange. He walked around in a Halloween costume and was wearing the same thing she had seen him wear when her mind had been in Jane's body. He seemed like he just wanted attention, so he went about walking backwards and dancing in front of people, and telling jokes that Kayla found somewhat funny but would never admit it. She was sure she would end up tripping over him soon enough. Maybe that was his intention.

"Well, let's hear it." Kayla wished he would stop looking at her in the way he was. It made her so uncomfortable.

"Okay, I can the first verse and we can sing the chorus together. Do you play guitar or something?"

Jester looked confused. He was very knowledgeable about instruments but had never heard of a guitar. "No, I play the lute. I'll go get it." He got up from the table by the kitchen they were sitting at and went off into the direction of the gardens. Kayla was starting to wish she had come up with something other than singing to get herself in the castle. Wasn't she good at anything else? _Gardening?_ she thought. _No. Cooking? Definitely not._ She laughed to herself. Jester then returned a few seconds later. _He sure made a point of coming back soon. _She sighed again.

"Here's my lute. Do you play any instruments?"

"I play guitar."

"Oh." He looked at his lute and wondered what a guitar was like.

"Can I see your lute?" She could play guitar so why couldn't she play the lute? He handed his instrument over to her. It was very different. It had a whole lot of string, was shaped differently, and was a different size. She experimented plucking and fingering notes but found she could not play it. She handed it back to him. "Maybe you should come up with a lute part on your own."

He nodded and Kayla sang the first verse, showing him the melody. Then they practiced the chorus, singing a harmony. Kayla had Jester memorize the parts that he would sing, and he experimented with coming up with a lute part. Luckily Jester was fast at memorizing. Their practice was done by mid-afternoon. Kayla hurried away to find Jane as quickly as she could, and she didn't look forward to having to dodge Jester all the time, for he always showed up when she didn't want him to. Kayla just plain didn't like him.

Jane was in her room, studying a book. Kayla figured she would be there, as she was nowhere to be found in the practice yard, gardens, or kitchen. She knocked on the door and Jane answered it, letting her in. It was awkward for them to start a conversation, for even though they wanted to get to know each other, after all they had been through and in such little time, it was strange. Kayla decided to complain about Jester, to get a conversation started. "I can't stand that court jester person. He's just annoying as can be."

Jane looked sad. "He's my friend, or well, he _used_ to."

Kayla immediately regretted ragging on him. "I'm sorry."

Jane smiled. "It's alright. It's just…"

Kayla knew she was a bit selfish in this respect but she liked it when other people had emotional problems. She loved figuring out people's problems and, hopefully, solving them. She figured she might become a psychologist one day, if not a singer. "What is it?" Kayla felt she already knew. She recalled when Jester had told her (when she was Jane) that he loved her.

"He told me he 'loved me' though I'm not sure if that's true or not and ever since he's been avoiding me. It's been a year. Our friendship has been ruined."

Kayla smiled. She enjoyed the thought of her intervening. "Maybe I can get you two together again."

Jane straightened up and looked at her askance. "Really?"

"Oh yes. I know he likes me but I don't like him one bit. To tell the truth, I kind of like Gunther." Kayla blushed and Jane tried hard not to roll her eyes. "I see two ways to deal with this. One, you can convince him that you've forgotten that he told you he loves you. But I wouldn't suggest that. His confession was a major step for you two and it would be pointless to undo it. The second thing you could do is show him that there's no need to be embarrassed and that you like him. You need to convince him that it was a good thing."

Jane thought about this. "How do I do that?"

"No clue." Kayla shrugged and eagerly said, "Do you want to see the things I brought with me?"

"Sure." Jane smiled. Kayla seemed to be an energetic and fun person. Kayla practically leaped out of the room and then ran down the steps down to the courtyard and tried her best to remember how to get to her room. She found the entrance to the Throne Room and was relieved that no one was there, so she quickly made her way to the hallway and searched for her room. Minutes later, she found it, grabbed her bag, and went back the way she had come. Ten minutes later (finding the exit to the castle was harder than she had expected) she came rushing to Jane's door, toting her bag. She immediately took out her iPhone.

Jane remembered when the device had made a strange noise that had frightened her, causing her to destroy the thing. She now felt bad, knowing it had belonged to Kayla. "What is that?" She couldn't think of anything to relate it to.

"It's called an iPhone. It's a computer and a phone."

"I have no idea what you just said."

Kayla pondered, wondering how she would explain a computer and the Internet. Explaining the concept of a phone was simple enough, so she started with that. "Phones are devices you use to talk to anyone in the world. You just press some buttons and you can 'call' someone else anywhere in the world by putting their phone number in. Each phone has its own number so you can call that phone. It's kind of like shouting someone's name and they shout back, except the phone number is like the name and you don't have to shout. You hear their voice in the phone and they hear yours. It doesn't matter how far away you are."

Jane nodded. She tried her best to understand Kayla's analogy.

"And then there are computers. Computers are machines that have these settings where you can do stuff on them like write except you press keys for the letters. There is the Internet, which is thing with a lot of information there that you can access. It's like a book except you can find _anything_ on it and it's not hard to find. iPhones are phones and computers all in one device." Kayla turned her iPhone on and out of curiosity, typed in Google to see what would happen. There was no signal, of course. Expressing her disappointment, Kayla sighed, looking at her iPhone. There were some disadvantages to travelling to the past. "You can also listen to music on it," Kayla continued. She looked at her iTunes songs that she had downloaded and decided to play the song Mean, as she and Jester would soon be performing it.

Jane was surprised, but delighted. She sort of liked the song, though it was different. She was fascinated by the idea of music coming out of this device. Kayla stopped the music. "Yeah, that's the song Jester and I are singing." She out away her iPhone and took out her flashlight. She turned it on. Jane was mesmerized by it. Light seemed to magically come out of it and as the sky was cloudy and Jane's windows were closed, it lit up Jane's room and gave it a yellowish glow. "How does that work?" Jane asked.

"Well this dude named Thomas Edison invented the light bulb about a thousand years from now and light comes out of it when it has electricity. Electricity is power that makes something work. This thing is called a flashlight and batteries," Kayla showed Jane the extra batteries she had brought. "Make it work. It's like a smaller torch." She handed the flashlight to Jane, who eagerly switched it on and off.

Jane remembered her unanswered question, and having heard the word again, asked, "What's a dude?"

Kayla laughed and said, "It's just another word for a person." She took the flashlight from Jane and put it away. She took out a chocolate bar and her coke. "This is chocolate and this is coke. They are foods that are really good. Do you know what sugar is?"

Jane shook her head.

"It grows in a faraway place from here and it hasn't been discovered yet." She paused. "At least I don't think it has." She shrugged. "I don't know; I'm not that good at history. Do you have a cup?" Jane got up an fetched a cup from the shelf. Kayla poured her a cup of the coke.

Jane nearly choked, as she was very surprised by the flavor and fizziness. "What's is this?" she asked, coughing.

"It's soda. The fizziness is carbon dioxide they put in it."

Jane looked at her. "What?"

"Never mind." Kayla knew there was no point in trying to explain the science of the Earth's atmosphere to Jane. She unwrapped a chocolate bar and gave some to Jane, who very much liked the taste of it.

Kayla and Jane went through a few more of Kayla's things, in which Kayla explained pens, paper, and the concept of the printing press. At dinnertime, they left Jane's room and went to the tables by the kitchen where Smithy, Rake, and Jester were already gathered. There was an empty seat beside Jester, who was hoping Kayla would want to sit there, but Kayla sat beside Smithy on the other side and winked at Jane, who sat beside Jester. They hadn't sat together in a long time. Kayla enjoyed sitting next to Smithy, who she liked, but as she was too fickle, she decided she would focus any romantic feelings on Gunther.

Kayla was asked many questions, including "What kingdom are you from and what is it like?" and "How do seem to know Jane?" Kayla came up with answers that did not reveal the fact that she had traveled back in time. Dinner didn't taste as good as what Kayla was used to, but she knew they didn't have the resources she was used to. She dealt with the annoying question and looks from Jester, and soon went to her room where she did some serious thinking.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Kayla had long since learned there was always a way. Or at least there often was. When she woke up the next morning, she had decided that, despite the fact that she would only be present in the past for three weeks, she could still play an important role in the run of things, and really get to know these people. Plus, she was determined to find a way to get Jane and Jester back together, for not only would it help their relationship, it perhaps would get Jester to not be so annoying around Kayla. So she would have to find a way to get Jester to fall in love with Jane again. Upon thinking this, Kayla wondered if perhaps she was intruding too much on their relationship, but then again, Jane did want help. She couldn't believe she had only arrived yesterday. Kayla already had a sense of belonging. But then she realized something quite dreadful. If Kayla were to make friends of these people, and perhaps have romantic feelings for Gunther, once she returned to her time, they would all be gone, and would have been for a thousand years. She decided she shouldn't get too close to anyone.

Kayla discovered the best way to get from her room to the outside. She went through quite a few hallways and staircases before she arrived at a door opposite the Throne Room, so she entered by the courtyard. She then went to the kitchen to get breakfast, and was uncomfortable as no one else was there. Pepper was in the kitchen, already preparing a meal for later and said as Kayla entered, "Hello, Kayla. You're up awfully late."

Kayla had checked her iPhone clock app a few minutes ago, and it had only said 9:00. When did these people get up? Pepper handed a bowl of fruit and returned to her work. Kayla went to the table to sit by herself as she ate breakfast. She wasn't quite sure of what she was expected to do. Was she to go to the King and perform? She decided she would ask Jester? As soon as she had finished her breakfast she went to find him, and did so in the gardens, where he was sitting by the fountain, writing a ballad.

The way he smiled at her made her uneasy. It would certainly be difficult to get him and Jane back together if he had feelings for her. None of these people realized she would only be around for three weeks. "Good morning, Kayla," she said fondly to her. Kayla might have feelings for Gunther, and perhaps Smithy, but she certainly knew she did not like Jester.

"I was wondering what I should do. Should I just be lazy and sit around all day and write songs like you do or is there anything else I should be doing?" Kayla hoped her insult would make Jester not like her as much.

Jester did not seem to be offended. "I usually like to help anyone around the castle with their work. The King likes to be entertained often, so you should always have something prepared for him. Pepper needs a lot of help in the kitchen, since she's preparing food for the whole castle all by herself. You should help her.

Kayla laughed and said, "Oh, I should think she would be better off without my help. I assure you, I am probably the worst cook you've ever met. Even if she only wanted me to boil water, I'm sure I would mess it up somehow!"

Jester laughed as well. _Oh great_, Kayla thought. _Now he likes me even more._

"Well, there are many other things to do. You can help Smithy in the stables, though I doubt you would enjoy a messy job like that." His voice started to betray sadness. "Jane always likes company when she's practicing." His voice now seemed to get happier. "Of course," he said. "You can always help me."

Kayla got more uncomfortable now and said, "Well we need to work more on Mean so we can perform it for the King soon so how about we practice that after lunch." Having said that, Kayla left the courtyard as quickly as she could. She couldn't believe she was already having problems like these and she had hardly even gotten to know these people. Kayla found Jane in the practice yard battling against the dummy. The moves she was using were very complicated, and Kayla marveled at her skill.

"Hey, Jane!" she called. Jane turned around and waved. "Do you want to try?" she called back. Kayla nodded and Jane went to get another wooden sword. She handed it to Kayla and showed her the proper way to hold it.

"So do I just hit that pile of wood?" she pointed to the dummy with her practice sword.

"No, it's harder than it looks. You can practice against me. Just try to block my lunges." Jane got into a fighting position and Kayla just stood there holding the sword. Jane lunged and Kayla threw the sword out and it hit Jane's sword sideways, but Jane was quick and just lunged at her again. Kayla was able to block Jane's thrusts but each time she blocked it she became less coordinated. After a few blocks she accidently dropped her sword. She picked it up and they continued practicing and Jane taught her more positions.

"Hello, Jane. Hello, Kayla." Gunther's voice sounded from behind them. Kayla whirled around smiling, and Jane, who was facing Gunther's direction, glared. She didn't know why Kayla liked Gunther but it made Jane more irritable seeing the two of them together. As Jane had expected, Gunther started to show Kayla his skills, trying to impress her. She could see that Kayla was enjoying the attention. Jane started to realize that she had some problems she had to sort out. Her relationship with Jester was not working out and she was fifteen and he was seventeen. They had courted briefly, but after he had told confessed his love, they had drifted apart. They had already spent a year avoiding each other. And Jane didn't know how to feel about Gunther. She was jealous when he liked another girl yet she wanted to be with Jester, right? Rake and Pepper were planning to get married as soon as they could. Things were getting too complicated.

Meanwhile, as Gunther was showing her some sword skills, Kayla felt bad for letting Gunther teach her, and she would rather have Jane teach her, but she liked him showing her things. Even though she had decided not to get too close to anyone, she couldn't help liking him. Sir Theodore then came and asked Kayla to leave so he could give Jane and Gunther a lesson. Kayla didn't want to leave, as she enjoyed Gunther's company. It was noon, though, so Kayla headed off in search of Jester.

He was at the table by the kitchen. They began practicing and Jester finished the lute part for the song. He had his part memorized and they practiced the whole song a few times through and decided that it was at a good enough level to perform. Jester went off to tell the King that they would be ready for their first performance whenever was a good time, and came back, informing Kayla that their performance was to be after dinner.

She then left Jester to practice by himself and went off in search of Jane, so she could apologize for letting Gunther take over their lesson to show off. She could tell Jane and Gunther had some rivalry going on and Kayla must have made it hard for Jane by paying so much attention to Gunther. Kayla soon found Jane, and Gunther, and was not happy at what she found.

Jane and Gunther were in the practice yard and they were in the middle of a fight.

Note: Please review, it's always nice to know what people think. I hope you're enjoying the story so far so please review.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Kayla stood in the archway by the practice yard, where Jane and Gunther were bickering fiercely. They had not yet become aware of her presence, so she stood there unnoticed, watching their argument, wondering if it would be better to intrude or not. She wondered if somehow she had indirectly caused the argument, and she felt a bit guilty as Gunther was yelling, "Do you realize how selfish you are, Jane?" Kayla looked around to see if anyone else was witnessing their argument.

Jane looked hurt and angry. "Gunther, I'm not-"

He cut her off. "No, listen," he said. "It's always about you. Everything's always about you. If you don't get your way then you storm off and wait for your friends to come running back to apologize. One day you're going to wake up and realize the world doesn't revolve around you. I'm just trying to make friends because I have no friends, and no one likes me because they're all trying to make you happy. Just when I'm about to have a friend, something ruins it. Like when I was friends with Dragon. You were jealous and then my father came in and ruined it. And you have created a reputation I have to live up to. That lizard makes sure you get what you want. You and him probably set up the whole thing about saving the Prince. And now you're starting to see reality. Even the fool has stopped following you around all the time."

Jane could not believe what she was hearing. "How dare you accuse me of that? And Jester and I…" Jane trailed off. "You have no right to say those things. You say I've created a reputation for you? How about when you stole the test paper? How about when you exploited my fear of the dark? You've always been a cheater and that's your own doing. And about saving the Prince? How dare you challenge that? It was not a set-up, Gunther. And I recall I was the one who saved the Prince, not any of the knights. You're just trying to be the best and-"

"_You're_ the one trying to be the best!"

Kayla could not let this argument go on any further. "Chill out, you two!" she called as she ran in their direction. Jane and Gunther bother turned around, surprised, and Gunther looked immediately embarrassed.

"Kayla, what are you-" Jane began.

"What is wrong with you people?"

Gunther looked down and Jane opened her mouth but nothing came out. "What's your beef?" Kayla asked. Jane and Gunther looked at each other. "We're rivals," Jane answered. Kayla didn't know whether or not she should interfere any further. They could figure out their problems on their own. Kayla was doubtful, so she decided she could talk to each one of them privately. Changing the subject, Kayla said, "Jester and I are going to perform our first song in the Throne Room after dinner if you want to come." She then left the practice yard without another word. Jane and Gunther no longer wanted to fight, so Gunther headed off to the Knight's quarters and Jane went to her room. Kayla went to her own room, and began pondering once again of how to restore Jane and Jester's relationship.

Meanwhile, Jester was sitting on the wall, and had witnessed the whole fight and Kayla's intervention. A sadness and emptiness filled him, and he returned to his lute playing. Jane may be angry with Gunther but she always seemed to forgive him. She spent much more time paying attention to Gunther than she did Jester. He felt so very troubled, so he went to trying to compose a new ballad.

Jester wasn't present at dinner. Kayla was relieved, as she did not feel like dodging his jokes another night. He was probably just practicing for their performance in an hour. She was sitting next to Smithy as usual, and Rake was sitting next to Jane, so they were not a squished as they usually were, for the table was not big enough to comfortably sit five people. Rake immediately went to yammering on about his vegetables, and when he did this, Kayla usually tuned him out, as she was not very interested in botany. Then Jane or Smithy would comment on it and they would go to another topic. Smithy started talking about some sort of invention he was planning to build. Despite her feelings for Gunther, Kayla still had a keen interest in what Smithy was saying. She wondered if he could build anything from the future that she could suggest to him. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind.

Jane seemed fine, not at all troubled by her argument with Gunther. Kayla wanted a chance to speak with her about it privately, but had not seen a chance in the last few hours since the argument. Jane happily commented on Smithy's invention-in-the-works. Rake then joined in, saying, "Maybe you could make something that could transport my vegetables like the wheelbarrow except you could make it so they wouldn't get mixed up."

Kayla rolled her eyes and whispered to Smithy, "Oh yes, how tragic it would be if he got his cucumbers mixed up with his zucchinis."

He laughed and whispered back, "How tragic it would be if he finally lost his noodle!"

Kayla then replied, "What if he accidently ate his noodle!" Rake, Jane, and Pepper, who was now emerging from the kitchen to present their food, looked at Kayla and Smithy with odd looks, as the two were laughing uncontrollably. They all then started laughing, even though they didn't know the reason for Kayla and Smithy's hysterical laughter, but laughter is often very contagious. Pepper set down a platter of fish, and they all started to eat, and continued their conversation. An hour later, they all went to the Throne Room, as they all wanted to watch Kayla and Jester's first performance, and they had not even heard Kayla sing before. Jester was already there in the Throne Room, and the Royal Family was waiting. Kayla went up to Jester and said, "I hope you don't have stage fright."

"Oh, I don't," he replied. He smiled kindly. "I hope you don't"

"Nah, I've sung a million times in front of people."

"Literally?"

She gave him an amused glare and they went up to the front of the room and bowed before the monarchs. It seemed everyone how lived at the castle was present to see their performance. Jester began to play his lute and Kayla began singing.

Note: Please review, as always. I hope ya liked it! I have big plans for this story…*excited laughter* Review, people! It makes me happy :)


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Everyone in the room seemed very much entertained as Kayla sang the first verse of "Mean" and Jester plucked a melody on his lute. Jane directly connected to the message of the song and felt that Gunther was mean to her in the way the song described, but then she started to wonder if perhaps she was mean to anyone in that way… The Royal Family was pleased at Kayla's skill and how well she performed with Jester- how she danced around to the beat of the song while she sang, keeping the show very interesting. They then went to the chorus, which they sang together, and the harmonies were quite beautiful. Jester sang the second verse and Kayla amusingly mouthed the words for a few seconds. When the song was over, everyone applauded, and the King stood up and said, "A very good first performance. I look forward to hearing your next song." Kayla and Jester bowed deeply and the small crowd of people began to leave the room; Gunther left after a few adults, and Jane left immediately and went up to him, as if to speak with him about something. Kayla noticed Jester's sad expression as he looked at Jane, sighed, and carried his lute as he left the room as well. Kayla began realize what possibly could be bothering Jester and she ran out of the Throne Room and into the garden, looking for Jane. She saw Jane heading to her room and followed her. Jane went up the steps faster than her, and when she arrived, the door was already closed, so she knocked. Jane answered, opening it and saying, "Hello, Kayla. Your performance with Jester was very nice."

"Yeah, yeah, look I think I know what is bothering Jester about you."

"Really?" Jane was surprised and gestured for her to come in.

"Yeah, I think he feels like you don't like him."

She raised a fiery eyebrow. "You think I like it that he neglected me for a year?"

"No, I think _he_ feels neglected."

Jane stepped back, shocked. "By me?" Her expression changed to cynical. "How?"

"Jane, you have to remember people see things in different ways. He might have an entirely different take on the whole thing."

Jane sighed and thought about what Kayla had said, causing then to go into silence. Finally she asked, "So what should I do?"

"Pay attention to him. Ask for his opinion in things. Ask him for advice."

"I used to always do that."

Kayla seemed surprised and cocked her head. "Why did you stop?"

Jane's eye widened, she brought her hand to her mouth, and began to look horrified, as if realizing something terrible. "I don't know." They were silent for a few moments, as Jane seemed very troubled. She then asked, "Do you think this is all my fault?"

Now it was Kayla's turn to say, "I don't know." She continued, "I wasn't there. But I do know that you should go talk to him. Just start a conversation or ask for advice or something."

Jane nodded, and said, "Alright," before she made her way out of her room and started to the steps.

"And also," Kayla called as Jane turned around. "It would be nice if you could get Jester to stop liking me!" Jane smiled and headed down the steps to the practice yard in search for Jester. This was one of the few times she had ever been nervous about talking to him, and her stomach had turned to a knot. Within seconds, she saw him, as he was sitting on the swing and appeared to be deep in thought. He didn't realized she was there until she said, "Hello, Jester," waking him from his trance. He was very surprised, almost falling out of the swing, but he did not seem very happy to see her. "Oh, Jane, I didn't see you there."

"Sorry," she said, sitting down on the swing next to him. They both felt very uncomfortable around each other, for in the past year they had not been near each other often. "I was just looking for some advice."

He straightened up. "Really?" Sadness then crept back into his posture. "Why don't you go talk to Kayla or Pepper? Dragon even."

"I'd rather talk to you," she said sweetly, but he did not believe her and remained silent. All he did was look down. "I had a fight with Gunther," she continued and Jester sulked, for he had already heard the fight. "Go on," he said.

"Well, he said I was selfish and that I take advantage of people. Is that true?"

Jester had a few thoughts come to mind that he decided would not be good to express. "Do you think it is?" he asked, purposely avoided bringing his own opinion into the matter.

"I'm not sure. Maybe…"

He decided to answer her question the easy way, without offending her, and his solution might prove useful. "Just do what you think is right. If you think you're selfish, than try to care more about what others and what they think. If you think you take advantage of other people and see what you're doing wrong, then stop it. It's as simple as that."

Jane smiled, though she did not find his advice very helpful, and said, "Thank you." She laid her hand on Jester's for a moment and then left. Jester smiled as he saw her go to her room, but the smile soon vanished.

* * *

><p>As soon as Jane returned to her room, Kayla, who was sitting on the bed waiting, asked, "How did it go?" She had seen them from the window but could not hear what they were saying.<p>

"I'm not sure," Jane said curiously.

Kayla laughed. "Well you were there, weren't you?"

Jane smiled and rolled her eyes, amused. "Yes, I'm just not sure if it helped any." Kayla studied Jane for a few moments, tilting her head like an intrigued parrot as if she were trying to understand something. She finally said, "You look worried."

She thought about this. "I guess I am."

"Well, lighten up! There are so many things you don't have to worry about."

Jane looked up. "Like what?"

"You don't have to worry about the world ending anytime soon! You've got at least a thousand more years!"

"Yeah," Jane said sarcastically. "That's helpful." They then left Jane's room, continuing their conversation as they went down the steps to the practice yard. They were analyzing her conversation with Jester, and both of them noticed that he was no longer there. Passing Smithy, who was carrying a piece of wood to the forge (Kayla was impressed with his stamina while lugging all the weight of it on his shoulders), they entered the courtyard, went by the fountain, and to the gardens. There, eight year old Lavinia was having an argument with her brother as they had done years ago. Lavinia was yelling, "No, you're always in charge, cowbrain!"

"Well a cow is smarter than you!"

Lavinia gaped, putting her hand over her mouth and stepping back in shock. "No one likes someone who's mean!"

"Yeah, and no one likes a mooing idiot like you."

Lavinia looked ready to cry, but would not dare do that, for fear of all the teasing she would receive from her callous brother. He had become quite mean in the last three years, surpassing the title of "brat." She went over to Jane when she saw her. "Jane! Kayla! Cuthbert's being mean to me, just like that song!"

"Ha, wimp," Cuthbert mocked.

Lavinia then yelled, "Well someday I'll be living in a big old city and all you're ever going to be is mean!" Kayla laughed to herself at how the song had influenced the royal children, but it disappeared as she saw Cuthbert stand over by his sister (he was considerably taller than her) and glared at her intimidatingly. Lavinia stood as tall as she could and did not even flinch. She was growing up to be quite the fearless leader. Jane asked the princess, "May I ask what you two majesties are fighting about?"

Cuthbert went up to Jane and vehemently said, "Nothing you need be concerned about." Lavinia glared at him and said, "Do not talk rudely to Jane!" She then turned to Jane and told her, "Cuthbert wants to control everything I do!"

Kayla whispered to Jane, "It doesn't sound like he'll be a very good king." Cuthbert heard most of what she had said and asked, "What was that?"

Kayla crossed her arms and said, "Nothing you need be concerned about."

Cuthbert advanced towards her and said, "That is no way to speak to your future king and-"

She cut him off and pointed a finger at him, tired of his incessant rudeness. "Look kid, I didn't care if you're the Prince. I'm older than you and I'm your superior so you can stop the rudeness. Got that?"

Jane quickly said, "Technically-"

"I don't care about technicalities. Technicalities are stupid," Kayla said. She turned back to the Prince. "Now you can stop being rude or you can go be rude to your imaginary subjects elsewhere." Cuthbert was truly flabbergasted, and eventually just walked off, not knowing what else to do. Lavinia was happy that Cuthbert had gone so she could turn her full attention to Jane and Kayla. She commented on Kayla, saying, "You look very much like my mother."

"Thank you," Kayla replied. Lavinia was just about to respond when the Lady in Waiting came to the garden, informing Lavinia that it was her bedtime. Kayla had not yet met Jane's mother directly and did not know that she was Jane's mother until Jane said, "Kayla, this is my mother, the Lady in Waiting." Kayla nodded and Jane's mother looked at her as if deciding something, but then turned away to bring Lavinia out of the garden. She did not speak to Jane or Kayla. After she had left with the Princess, Kayla said to Jane, "She didn't seem very nice."

"She is nice," Jane responded. "It's just that she and I don't get along very well. We aren't exactly on good terms."

"Why?"

"I'm a girl knight and my best friend is a dragon. She wishes I was a bit more ladylike."

"So you're a fighter not a lover, eh?" Kayla joked, though she knew Jane was unaware of the saying. She then went to the topic of the Princess's comment. "You know," she said. "It might be possible that I am related to the Queen."

"What?" Jane looked incredulous.

"Yes. I mean, I look so much like her. She might be my ancestor."

Jane was shaking her head. "I doubt it."

Kayla just shrugged her shoulders and said, "You never know." They continued talking for a little while longer, but soon went to their rooms as the sun was setting and darkness was approaching. They would have to get up early as was the routine for everyone in the castle. Kayla did not go to bed very easily, as her mind was on many things. She was very tired when she woke up the next morning.

Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm not so sure about it, so please tell me what you think. And don't forget to…review!


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

It was very beautiful outside and seemed to be the perfect day, in terms of weather. Birds chirped freely, relishing the crisp, clean air, and blue skies with an occasional fluffy cloud. The fragrance of the roses in Rake's garden was sweeter; the moods of the kingdom's denizens brighter. Up in her tower, Jane was studying a book on a past battle, and found the story very intense. Dragon had left a while ago, flying to a northern field in search of amusement. Everyone had dispersed in the castle, starting their daily routine after a wonderful breakfast, and Gunther was even in a better mood, smiling as he polished his sword and shield. It was the perfect day to go for a ride, so Smithy was in the stables, busy saddling a horse for Gunther. The raven-haired squire was to have a one-on-one lesson with Sir Ivon later on. He was planning to ride through town to get warmed up and acquainted with the horse, so he would most likely do better in his lesson, as he was naturally not the best at horse-riding. His smile broadened when he saw Kayla running towards him. "Good morning!" he called, trying his best to be sweet and charming

"Hi," she simply said when she reached him, but then paused as she took a moment to catch her breath. Once she had recovered from her run that had taken her from her room inside the castle, through the gardens, and to the practice yard, she told him, "I wanted to talk to you about your fight with Jane the other day."

"Oh." Gunther was slightly crestfallen. He did not wish to discuss his problems with Jane to Kayla, as she was Jane's friend and probably would not care to hear the truth, like everyone else at the castle. No one ever wanted to hear his opinion in anything it seemed, especially not in matters concerning Jane.

"So," Kayla began. "What was it all about? I know you guys said you're rivals but like literally, I could hear you guys' screaming and yelling from in the kitchen. Pepper and Rake were getting worried."

Gunther's face turned a sort of rubicund hue, partly due to embarrassment at hearing his fight with Jane was so evident, and also at the very fact that he was speaking to Kayla alone. "Sorry about that," he said finally, finding his voice that had seemed to disappear in the realms of discomfiture. "We just get into disagreements a lot."

Kayla laughed. "That fight sounded a lot harsher than a _disagreement_. It sounded like you guys were going to war." He laughed, trying to draw attention away from the topic and perhaps come across some other subject of conversation. He then noticed her expression of pondering, as if she were thinking very deeply of something of much importance and sincerity. She seemed to be making a decision. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing," she replied. "I was just thinking about my er-, _kingdom_."

"I wonder what it would be like to go there," Gunther said, and Kayla looked up quickly, startled. That was an unexpected response. Kayla's eyes sparkled with interest. "Really?" she inquired.

"I don't know," he said. "I haven't been many places, that's all." Just as Kayla was about to respond, Smithy came from the stables leading a gray and brown mottled horse and Kayla crossed her arms, annoyed. She did not enjoy being interrupted. Gunther nodded to Smithy and quickly said goodbye, then mounted the horse. She marveled at the animal and its rider as he rode the horse to the gates and then disappeared in the direction of the town. Smithy smiled at Kayla then turned his attention to assembling his tools and starting his work. Jane had seen Kayla from her window, and was on her way to the practice yard. Kayla's mind was still on Gunther but she tried her best to focus on Jane, who was commenting, "I see you're interested in the horses." Kayla remembered the only time she had ever ridden a horse. It had been when her mind was in Jane's body and the King had sent her on a mission to track down intruders with the other knights. Having had no prior experience with horses, Kayla had found it very difficult to keep up with the other knights and to avoid their suspicions.

"Yeah, I guess," she said, though her mind was still on Gunther.

"Well, I can show you some things." It was obvious to Kayla that Jane sought to teach her about horses, and since she had let Gunther intrude on their last lesson, she complied to let her, and they headed off into the stables. Kayla commented on the reek of the place, for a putrid odor engulfed the place. The smell of horses, their food, and their dung. _This place needs some Febreze_, Kayla thought. Jane explained some techniques to putting on saddles that sounded like a lecture Sir Theodore had given her on the subject. She then demonstrated how to put the saddle on a few times, and when Kayla finally went up to the horse and tried to put on the saddle, it reared and the heavy leather saddle landed on top of Kayla. Jane calmed the horse down and then helped Kayla up. She then gave her the extended lecture on saddling a horse.

"I see you've remembered you're lessons well," commented Sir Theodore, who had been standing at the entrance to the stables unnoticed. Kayla jumped at the sound of his voice and Jane calmly turned around, keeping a hand on the horse to steady it. Kayla, her voice a bit high in surprise, asked, "How long have you been standing there?"

The old knight laughed and said, "Not very long." He then turned to Jane and told her, "It is time for your archery lesson. You have seemed to forgotten." Jane apologized for her carelessness and took the horse back to its stable. She said goodbye to Kayla and then hurried after the tall knight. Kayla sighed and left the stables, waving her hand in front of her face to wave off the stench in the air. When she emerged from the stables, Smithy called out, "I have some free time if you want me to show you the horses." Kayla turned around to face him and wondered how he even knew Jane was showing her the horses. He was very attentive. She agreed to let him, so they went back in the stables. He took out the same horse and Kayla attempted once again to saddle the animal. Smithy made it easier by calming the animal while she put on the saddle, keeping it from rearing. Once the saddle was on Kayla tried to get atop the horse on her own but fell as soon as she tried to swing her leg over the horse. Smithy helped her up and they both blushed for a few seconds, before returning to their task. This time Smithy helped push her up on the animal, causing the two of them to blush more. She then got off and Smithy led the horse back to its stable and gave it a treat. He then went to introducing Kayla to all of the horses, telling her their names and personalities.

After showing her the horses, Smithy took Kayla to the forge and explained many of his contraptions, including the wheel Pig spun on. She was very interested in his inventions and work, and especially his gentleness with animals. Kayla did not have any special ability with animals, though she liked cats very much and took very good care of her cat Pepper, who was now in the care of her friend. She sighed, missing the future somewhat, but returned to listening to Smithy. Jane returned from her archery lesson an hour later, and Dragon came flying down to the practice yard. Kayla stepped back a little bit as she saw Dragon go up to Jane and excitedly tell her, "I found a new tunnel and it's full of runes I have never seen before! I decided to wait until you finished your lesson with Ol' Rusty Legs."

"Sir Theodore," she corrected. "And thank you for waiting." She was about to mount the big creature when she noticed Kayla by the forge, a look of pure shock on her face. "We should bring Kayla. I'm sure she would love to ride you."

"No!" Kayla and Dragon shouted simultaneously, only Kayla did so in fear and Dragon in annoyance. Jane tried to persuade him and eventually bribed him into letting Kayla come, with a deal that she would get Pepper to make some of that disgusting stew he adored so much. Kayla was hoping Jane would not win their dispute, and when Jane called her over, she asked, "Where are we even going?"

"To Dragon's cave."

"What?" Jane pointed to the big mountain that towered over the castle. Kayla tried again and again to convince Jane that she should not go, but eventually she gave in, realizing that riding Dragon, who Jane trusted, might be fun. She told them to wait as she went to her room and got her flashlight, pen, and notebook. When she returned and saw Jane and Dragon speaking to each other, waiting for Kayla to come along, she thought she would faint. She could not believe that she was actually going to ride a dragon. A year ago she did not even think they existed, let alone that she would ride one. Kayla did not know how she went up to Jane and nodded, but she did somehow and climbed onto the great beast's back. Dragon let out a snort of annoyance and took off. Kayla screamed fearing she would fall off; and she almost did, but Jane calmed her and pointed out at the view, as they had already gained considerable altitude. "I guess this is what it's like to ride on the top of an airplane," she mumbled to herself. Dragon could hear her though, and he asked, "What is an airplane?"

Kayla looked at Jane, who of course did not know what an airplane was either and mouthed so that Dragon could not hear it, "Should I tell him where I'm from?" Jane nodded and Dragon, who sensed they were talking about him behind his back (or rather _on_ his back) tried to look at them. Kayla bluntly said, "I'm from the future. Airplanes are these things that transport people like a ship, except it transports them in the sky." Jane vaguely remembered some sort of machine that had been in the sky when she was in Kayla's body.

"The future, eh?" Dragon asked.

"That's what I said," Kayla responded.

Dragon was not very surprised, and asked, "Now how on earth did you manage that?"

"_I_ didn't do anything. This scientist made a time travelling machine."

"I am knowledgeable in science as well. The science of carrots," Dragon laughed. He suddenly looked quite hungry. They had already reached his cave and he decided to swoop dramatically down to the ledge, in a humorous attempt to scare the daylights out of Kayla, and he succeeded. "Dragon," Jane chastised. He landed and Jane got off, Kayla following her. Kayla sat down on the ground, feeling dizzy, and said, "That was the scariest thing I've ever done. And I thought that cursed roller coaster was but that was _way_ scarier."

"What is a roller coaster?" Dragon asked.

"Big scary things that are supposed to be cool but make you puke on yourself."

"Sounds amusing," Dragon commented, chuckling. Kayla stood up and looked around the cave. There were all sorts of pictures and strange writing on the wall and near the back of the cave was a massive pile of stuff that Kayla could not identify. Looking up at the stalactites, Kayla said, "This place is amazing!"

Dragon looked at her in an approving way and said, "Why, thank you."

"You're welcome," Kayla said, amused, as she looked at him and tilted her head. Dragon burst out laughing, and Kayla soon did as well. Jane looked confused, and partly embarrassed that she did not get it. "What is so funny?" she asked. Kayla was wiping a tear from her face, and Dragon was getting over his laughing. Jane repeated her question, and Kayla began singing to the tune of "Who Says":

_Who knows?_

_Why it's so funny_

_I don't have a clue_

_Who knows why I'm laughing like I'm crazy_

_But hey_

_Maybe it was a good joke_

_But I'm not sure_

_Who knows why anything's funny_

_Who knows?_

Dragon was of course not familiar with the song, but he burst out laughing again, and Kayla joined him. Jane rolled her eyes and was happy that the two of them were getting along. The three of them started to a tunnel entrance that Dragon had recently found and they went through the entrance that was big enough that Dragon could come in the cave. Kayla flipped on her flashlight and Dragon immediately started to ask questions about it. Kayla explained to him about electricity and batteries. Their conversation went to Kayla telling them about her life in the future, and Dragon commented, "I'm 300 years old. Dragon's live much longer than shortlives."

"Really?" Kayla was interested.

"Oh yes, we magnificent creatures have magnificent life spans as well."

"How magnificent is you're humility?" Jane joined in. Dragon looked as if he was thinking about what she had said, but their attention turned to the runes on the wall. Kayla was trying her best to remember if she had learned about these runes in her class. She had taken a class on mythology and was wishing she had paid more attention during her lesson. Jane and Dragon were looking at a sequence of four runes that repeated many times on the wall. The last rune in the sequence was one they were familiar with: the rune meaning "dragon." They told Kayla this and she used her knowledge from her English class to try to figure them out.

"So it could be a title with a noun, preposition, article, and 'dragon'. Or it could be an interrogative sentence with the first word being why, when, what, who, where, or how." Kayla was thinking about this. Jane and Dragon looked at her and Dragon asked, "What are you blabbering about?"

"Grammar," Kayla said. She took out her pen and notebook and began drawing the runes and writing her ideas. She felt like she was one of those people on television who would go into a mysterious place and have to decipher the codes and warnings. They continued trying to figure out the rune sequence, but got nowhere with it. It was getting late and they decided to go home. Kayla was less afraid the second time she rode Dragon, but was still cringing when she looked down and saw the ground so far down. When they arrived back at the castle it was late afternoon, and as they had missed the mid-day meal, Jane and Kayla went to the kitchen to ask Pepper for a snack to eat. Jane then went to practice against the dummy and Kayla went to her room to look at her notes. She tried to figure out the rune pattern but was unsuccessful, and when the evening came they all gathered at the table. Kayla sat at her usual place beside Smithy and Rake and Jane and Jester sat across from them. She smiled as her friends started a conversation. Her _friends_. Her friends who lived in the Middle Ages.

Note: So what did you think? I WANT TO KNOW YOUR OPINION! Sorry for the caps lock, I'm excited. :)


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The two musicians were in the gardens: the jester with his lute in hand, and the girl, dressed in rather strange attire, was pacing along the sides of a vegetable patch. It was early morning; the best time in their opinions, to write a song, as ideas were fresh and opportunity had so amiably made itself welcome. The carefully tended plants around them were shining with beautiful drops of water laid on their leaves, and the soil was very moist from a rain shower the night before. Pepper's wonderful cooking was in the air, delighting the two with its mouth-watering aromas. "It's just rain, just water, some precipitation," Kayla was singing, in a lame attempt to compose a tune.

"That is a bit redundant," the blue boy responded, absently plucking a simple riff on his lute. Kayla scowled and whined, "It is not!" Jester, not one to get annoyed too easily, replied, "No, actually, I would say it is redundant."

Kayla put her hands on her hips and retorted, "Well, you can say what you want; it don't mean you're right." Jester cocked his head to the side upon hearing those words, and began to have a nagging suspicion that he had encountered Kayla's manner and way of speaking before, but he could not lay his finger on it. "Anyway," she continued. "Music is supposed to be redundant sometimes. Not too redundant but a little…" Her argument was failing, so instead of protesting on a weak, destined to fail debate, she asked, "What do you think it should be like! You're probably a _much_ better songwriter." Kayla humphed and sat down on the wet grass. She sat up straighter upon feeling an awkward wet sensation on her pants, but was not in the mood to get up in any event.

"Frustration makes it even harder to write," Jester said sweetly. "See the good in your mistakes, and take the wisdom you get from them and use it to your fullest potential."

"Whatever," Kayla said. "I don't see why we're writing a stupid song about rain anyway. I mean come on, it's rain!"

"It's just rain," Jester said.

"Yeah, just rain. Just boring, boring rain."

"Though it is rather important." Jester began mumbling phrases that came to him, ausual method of his for writing songs. "Just rain…come on, come on, just rain…just rain, just rain, just rain…I think I'm getting somewhere!"

"Amazing," said Kayla sarcastically. "It's just rain, just rain, just rain. Just stupid water falling from the sky."

"It's just rain, just rain, just rain. Just water falling from the sky." Jester was coming up with a melody for the lyrics. "Getting stuck in a rainstorm. Hmmm." He paused, trying to think of a suitable rhyme for "sky." "The wind's howling sounds like a cry."

Kayla stood up. "Now we're getting somewhere. So that sounds like a good chorus. We can harmonize it, too." She sang the chorus they had decided upon and nodded her head in satisfaction. "Now how should we start it? The first verse, I mean."

"Walking through a meadow," Jester sand beautifully. "Just wishing for some rain."

"What rhymes with rain? Mane, lane, plain, insane…oh! Walking through a meadow, just wishing for some rain. It's not coming, I think I'm going insane!"

Jester shook his head. "How about vain?"

Kayla shot him an unpleasant face and said, outraged, "Vain? Vain! You have confuzzled me brain!" she said in an exaggerated accent.

"Why are you acting so strangely?" Jester asked.

"Sorry," Kayla said, waving her hand. "I get this way when I'm frustrated." She was hoping he would begin to not like her. "Anyway, I should go. The king wanted me to perform something, so we can work on this later, okay?"

"Fine," Jester said, and he sat his lute down on the table by the kitchens, and then started towards the entrance of the place to help Pepper. Kayla had decided upon which song she would sing for the king; a song she liked entitled _My Happy Ending_. Jester turned around and saw Kayla leave the gardens and enter the Throne Room, and after a moment's hesitation decided to go and watch her performance. Entering the room, he saw a few people had gathered there, including Jane, to see Kayla's second performance, and first performance on her own, though not nearly as many people were there as when she and Jester had performed _Mean_. Hearing as Kayla sang it, Jester was reminded, as he was by any break-up or sad love song, that he missed Jane. They had drifted apart and Jester had realized that Jane was interested in Gunther. She spent so much more time with him, after all. When the song was over, he saw Jane look in his direction, and knew it was purposeful, as he was almost hiding in the entrance to the Throne Room. Overcome with sadness and perhaps embarrassment, the blue boy, rushed out of the room and went to help Pepper in the kitchen.

After helping Pepper, he disappeared to his room and did not leave for the mid-day meal or for dinner. The rest of the castle staff was busy as ever with their jobs, and Kayla was sitting on one of the swings in the practice yard, watching Jane and Gunther as they fiercely battled each other.

* * *

><p>The next day the king announced to be an official day off.<p>

The knights helped him set up in the gardens, putting his throne adjacent to the fountain to calm the sovereign. After her initial duty of helping the king was completed, Jane went to the practice yard where Dragon was sitting, looking for shortlife activity. Seeing Jane, he began to talk excitedly about some incident involving a cow. Gunther stood by the stable, watching Jane and Dragon talk, as he was completely petrified to perform any other activity. His feeling were split, for one part of him was jealous and resentful, for he personally thought Jane did not deserve any friends and that he should have some, and another part of him was hyper observant and somewhat paranoid. Ever since the incident with the king's crown a few years prior, Gunther had hated days off, even though they meant he could relax. He was hardly relaxed. He feared something would happen, causing him to get in serious trouble with the king. Gunther had barely escaped horrible punishment for invading the king's property and touching a royal object without permission. Putting the king's crown on one's head called for serious punishment: with King Caradoc, maybe a year's worth of extra duties or even taking of his knighthood. With a harsh king, he could have been sent to the dungeon. With a _really_ harsh king, maybe he would even have been beheaded. Gunther shuddered at the thought, and he looked around, fearing a royal object would somehow find its way to him, as if he were a trouble-making magnet.

Smithy, Rake, and Kayla entered the practice yard and greeted those who were already there. Kayla smiled at Gunther, who seemed terrified, and went up to Jane and Dragon, who had stopped their conversation. Jane seemed to be in the midst of making a decision, and she looked around and asked, "Where's Jester?"

"Right here, m'lady." Jaen whirled around in surprise and saw Jester happily striding towards her and Kayla. She had not heard him call her that in a while. "May, I be of assistance?" He bowed to Kayla, and Jane noticed that he did not do the same for her.

"I was thinking we could play bandyball, like we always do."

"I'll get the ball," Smithy offered and he went to the forge to retrieve it.

Rake pointed at Kayla and asked, "How should we split the teams?"

Kayla saw this as a chance to get Jane and Jester together and so she said, "How Jane, Jester, and Rake on one team. And me and Smithy on the other." She smiled at her teammate, who had once again joined the group, absently tossing the ball in the air.

"But the teams are uneven," said Rake. "And there's no way Dragon can play."

Dragon glared at the gardener, getting closer to him, and said, "You had better be careful about what you say to your _harmless_ referee." Rake opened his mouth, then shut it again and cowered behind Smithy.

Jane laughed and, noticing Gunther by the forge, called to him, "Would you like to play, Gunther?"

To everyone's amazement he said, "Yes," and came over to the group.

"Are you feeling alright?" asked Jester. Gunther only nodded and asked, "Whose team will I be on?"

Kayla was somewhat delighted that Gunther would be on her team and said, "Ours." The other still stood dumbfounded as Gunther took his place between Kayla and Smithy. After a moment of waiting, during which no one spoke or even moved, Gunther complained, "_Well_, are we going to play the game or not?" Jane responded, assuring him they would indeed play the game, and she looked at Kayla and asked her, "Do you know how to play bandyball?"

Kayla shook her head. "Never heard of it before."

So Jane and the others went to explaining the rules of the game, showing Kayla which target belonged to her team and how to properly wield the stick. After demonstrating a few ways to play the game and showing her examples, Kayla noted, taking a stick for her own use, "This game seemed like a mix of hockey, lacrosse, and tennis," she laughed, holding the stick up and forcefully waving it like a tennis racket, almost whacking Rake in the gut. Dragon laughed at the sight of the nervous gardener crying out and dodging the stick, but Kayla seemed to take no notice. "Did I mention I play lacrosse? And I'm quite good at it."

"I've never heard of any of the sports you just mentioned," commented Smithy.

"Pity," responded Kayla. "You look like you'd make a nice hockey player." The two teams then divided up and the players stationed themselves as Jane had explained to Kayla. The game began with Jester whacking the ball with the stick as Dragon did his best to "quietly yell" as a referee. Smithy then aimed the ball, as it was coming towards him, in Gunther's direction. The raven-haired squire took aim and knocked it against the target with a loud _plonk_. Kayla and Smithy cheered, and Jane, Jester, and Rake, still a bit dumbfounded, scowled simultaneously. The ball then came over to Kayla, who whipped it up with her stick similar to how one would do in lacrosse, and sent the ball hurtling over to Gunther again. They continued for a while, with Kayla's team beating Jane's team, and Gunther seemed to be enjoying the game, thoroughly surprising all of them. Then, when the ball came over to him, Gunther forcefully sent it flying towards Dragon accidently. Dragon had begun to daydream, and as he was not prepared for the ball to come his way, he fell over the side of the wall in surprise and swat the ball away as he fell. Jane yelled and raced up the stairs and up to the wall, so that she was able to see the ball sail over into the gardens and hit Sir Ivon none too gently on the head.

The burly knight let out a loud cry of pain, and fell to the ground. Apparently not very hurt, he came storming back up angrily and began spitting out curses and cries of disgust. He looked up the wall to see Jane staring at him, who was not sure whether to be holding back a burst of snorts and laughter, be horrified, or be concerned for Dragon, who was moaning and getting up from a pile of rubbish. "You!" the angry knight yelled. "Did you do this, squire!" The king looked very shocked and upset, partly from being awoken from such a lovely nap. Sir Theodore looked as calm as ever, and the staff in the practice yard now joined Jane atop the wall to see the commotion. Jane opened her mouth, but nothing came out, so Kayla spoke for her. "No, sir!" she yelled down.

"The who!" Sir Ivon yelled in a thick Scottish accent, clutching his head. "Who for the love of Pete did this!"

No one spoke or moved. "Wasn't me," Dragon murmured. Jane climbed over the wall and onto his friend's back to see if he was alright. They all turned to look at Gunther, who had begun to back away. Sir Ivon looked shocked as he saw his own squire's guilty face. "Did you send the ball over here?" Sir Theodore asked.

"It was an accident," Kayla said, coming forward to defend Gunther.

"Yes," the raven-haired boy guiltily said.

"Can you explain yourself?" Gunther shook his head.

"Very well," the king said for the first time since the incident happened. He stood up and said," Gunther, Jane, Sir Theodore, please join me in the Throne Room." Jane said something to Dragon and the beast took off, still in a daze, and flew to the other side of the wall. Had he not been so confused, he would have been very amused, laughing for all he was worth, against his own good. Kayla, Smithy, Jester, and Rake all left down the stairs to the practice yard in silence. They could still hear Sir Ivon's yells and curses.

An hour passed before Jane or Gunther was seen. Smithy had begun to work in the forge, despite the day off, for he did not fell like doing anything else. Rake went to tend his vegetables, and Jester had asked Kayla if she would like to continue working on their song, but she refused. Jester had then gone off sulking to his room and left Kayla to sit on the swings, which was now becoming one of her favorite places to sit. The she saw Gunther. He looked terrible, his face full of guilt and despair. He passed Kayla and Smithy without acknowledging their presence and headed for the gate. Kayla and Smithy glanced at each other in silent worry, and then Kayla followed Gunther to the gate where she stopped him. "Gunther?" she asked. He ignored her and continued through the gate. She followed him and grabbed his hand, sending a bright red color to his tanned face as he turned around. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"I have to go get my father," he murmured, taking his hand away from hers and leaving the castle premises. Kayla continued with him to the path that led to the town and asked, "Why?"

Gunther sighed. "I'm in a bit of trouble, and since my father pays for my knight's training, he must speak with the king." They walked in silence for a few minutes, worry settling in Kayla's stomach. How much trouble was he in, exactly? Finally she spoke up. "Are you going to lose your knighthood because of this?" She instantly regretted saying that, for she feared what the answer would be.

To her relief, Gunther shook his head. "No, no, not for that. I've done much worse things than accidently hit a knight with a ball. Much worse things."

"Like what?" Kayla asked quietly. Then she laughed, "What did you do that's worse than hitting that poor knight on his precious noggin?"

"Oh, just things my father made me do. He always gets me to do his dirty work, and threatens to take my knight's apprenticeship if I don't."

"He doesn't sound very nice," Kayla commented.

"He isn't." The raven-haired squire's voice was rather bitter as he spoke of his father, and Kayla imagined him to be a horrible man who treated his son like a slave, and used him for the worst possible things for his own greed. She was not very far from the truth. Kayla took a breath and laid a hand on Gunther's arm. "No matter what happens," she said in a reassuring voice. "Everything will be alright. And even if you feel no one likes you, remember people do. Or at least one person does." She then left Gunther to stand alone on the path to watch the blonde girl return to the castle. A slight smile danced across his face, and though simple her words may have been, he suddenly felt more wonderful than he had in a long time.

**So, what did you think? Sorry if the last part is a bit rushed or confusing- I was pressed for time and I needed to update. So go ahead and review and all that stuff. Sbohem!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's note: I am sorry that I have not updated this story in quite a while, but do not fear, I have not forgotten about it. I actually have big plans for this story so I promise that I will start updating my stories more regularly. :)**

Disclaimer: I do not own anything of this wonderful, wonderful show.

Chapter 11

The next night, Kayla refrained from sleeping, as she became very involved in writing a special little ditty for a certain green reptile. The evening prior, she had decided that the creature deserved his own theme and instead of sleeping, she found it much more important to begin writing his song. Luckily, inspiration came to her in strong waves and by the time midnight fell, the song was complete. For the rest of the remaining hours until dawn, she attempted to formulate a plan to bring Jane and Jester back together. It was hopeless though, and somewhere in between three and four o'clock she accidently fell asleep, only to be awoken hours later from the sun rudely coming into her room via the window.

Kayla quickly got up, fetched the paper on which she had written the song, and raced through the corridors of the great castle until she reached the door to the outside. Searching the courtyard, she found no sign of Jane or her dragon, so she resorted to asking Smithy where they were. "On patrol," he said, smiling at her. He then dutifully resumed to his work of forging a sword. Kayla did not feel an urge to sit around in the courtyard waiting for the pair to return, so she impatiently headed for the kitchens, keeping an eye out for Jester, as to avoid him. Strolling down the stairs to the kitchens, she listened in on the activity in the room to make sure Jester was not inside helping Pepper. Honestly, she could not understand what Jane saw in the annoying, weird fool.

"Oh, hello Kayla!" Pepper said cheerfully, sensing her presence. "Have you come to help me cook? Jester is busy entertaining the king and I could use some help." She gestured at the disarray of plates and fruits that took up the entirety of the table at which she was working.

"Sure, Pepper. Cleaning I can manage. Cooking…" she paused with a grimace placed on her face. "That is a whole other matter. I would probably burn this place down. On accident of course."

"Of course," assured Pepper, and Kayla went to organizing and cleaning the messy table.

It was not until midday that Jane and Dragon arrived back at the castle, only to come upon an annoyed Sir Theodore. Jane apologized sincerely for missing her archery lesson, but Kayla saw it as an opportunity to be with Dragon, alone. She would not have dared even think about facing the green beast just two weeks ago when she had first arrived, but now she was quite comfortable around him.

"I have a surprise for you, Dragon," she said when she met up with him in the practice yard.

"Really?" He yawned. "A dragon-sized surprise or a small short-life revelation?"

"You can tell me. I wrote a song for you!"

"A song? Of dragon proportions? I should like to hear it." Dragon crossed his claws across his chest.

"Alright. Keep in mind though that this is from a dragon's point of view. It pretty much covers everything Jane has told me about you and what I have witnessed myself." With that, Kayla began singing:

_Oh, that's me, yeah, yeah, that's me, alright_

_Yeah I love to fight and watch cows moo_

_And watch the short-lives do what they do_

_I'm big and green and oh so tough_

_I call the shots when it's enough_

_I'll spread my wings, you watch me fly_

_Soaring around in the sky_

_Then I'll go up to my cave_

_When I'm around you'd better behave_

_Yeah-eah-eah-eah_

_I start the fires_

_Bake them liars_

_Make 'em say uh-oh_

_I have claws_

_I make the laws_

_Make 'em say oh no_

'_Cause I'm a dragon_

_Yeah, I'm a dra-a-a-a-agon_

_I'll rush to your side in a war_

_Or burn your house down when I'm bored_

_I have the freedom, the world is my kingdom_

'_Cause I'm a dragon_

_That's right, I'm a dragon_

_I've got something to say and I'm going to tell you today, listen_

_I know you're wishing you want my help you confess_

_What are you a damsel in distress?_

_My best friend is the first girl knight_

_I have magnificent wings with which I take fight_

_I'm most definitely not a parrot_

_Though I'm knowledgeable in the science of carrots_

_I'll go get myself a victory pumpkin_

_Hey, ain't that something_

_I am a dragon_

_I can burn a wagon_

_I've said many times before_

_I might be the only one in the world_

'_Cause I'm a dragon_

_Yeah, I'm a dra-a-a-a-agon_

_I'll rush to your side in a war_

_Or burn your house down when I'm bored_

_I have the freedom, the world is my kingdom_

'_Cause I'm a dragon_

_That's right, I'm a dragon_

Kayla looked up the creature. "What did you think?"

Dragon pondered for a moment before replying, "I must say, short-life, I am impressed. It's about time someone has written a song for me. Did I tell you I sing? It's not something I'm proud of, but it is a fact."

"Can I hear your voice?"

Dragon came closer. "Come to the meadow and I'll show you. I can't risk having a mob of short-lives swooning in their ridiculous manner about my talent." Dragon abruptly took off into the sky, heading for the meadow, and Kayla ran as fast as she could manage through the castle gates and to Dragon's destination. Once she arrived, panting from enervation, Dragon began singing a song he was quite familiar with.

_Through wooded glade I wander_

_Gathering blossoms as I go_

_I'll bring them to my lady_

_That her heart she may bestow_

Kayla stared at the dragon with eyes filled with awe. "That was amazing! I had no idea you had such a good voice. But there's something I need to talk to you about."

"And what would that be?"

Kayla sighed. She thought her plan was a good one, but she was not excited to inform Dragon that she would be leaving soon. It pained her that the wonderful people she had come to know belonged in medieval times, and that soon she would have to let them go. "I will be leaving soon. I need to get back to my time, but I do have an idea. I would like to take Jane into my time so that Dr. Allen, the scientist who brought me here, can talk with her. I also think it would be nice for her to see what the future is like. What I need to know is this: how long exactly do dragons live?"

Dragon eyed her suspiciously and answered, "Jane and I are not sure but I'm guessing about 2,000 years."

Kayla's face lit up with a smile. "Perfect! Here's my plan: Jane and me will go into the future, my time, and we will find you! You're 300 years old now, right? You would be about 1,500 years old in my time. Wouldn't that be great! Your future self could meet with Jane long after she had died!"

"Short-life, I must commend you once again. That is a wonderful idea."

"There is more. You have to be at a certain place or we will never be able to find you. You need to be in Northern Virginia, in the United States, and in a really large field about 20 miles away from the Allen Scientific Complex. Can you remember that for 1,000 years?"

"Of course. Dragons have incredible memories."

"Alright, then is it a deal? We can't tell Jane though. It will be a surprise for her once we go to the future." Kayla stuck out her hand.

"It is a deal as long as my Jane returns safely from this future without any scratch or blister."

"I promise she'll be fine," Kayla responded and Dragon shook her hand with his enormous claw.

**Author's note: Ugh, I am so very frustrated. My stupid computer has recently decided that it would be amusing to freeze every other sentence. Anyway, I'm not sure how this chapter went but I am glad to be writing fanfiction again. As always, please review.**


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